New testimonies in case against former Ecuadorian vice president

Quito, Jan 7 (Prensa Latina) Ecuador's National Court of Justice this Tuesday hosts the second day of the adjudication hearing against former vice president Maria Alejandra Vicuña, as part of the case known as 'Diezmos.'

The former official is accused of extortion, based on the sworn statement by Angel Polivio Sagbay, a former member of her work team who claimed that he had to pay a monthly sum to Vicuña to keep his position as a national assembly member from 2012 to 2016.

Yesterday, over dozen experts and witnesses offered their version, who sustained the complaint, after confirming the existence of transfers from Sagbay and two other former colleagues of the then member of parliament.

The Office of the Attorney General (PGE) underscored that the defendant took advantage of her position as an assembly member to request funds from her collaborators.

In her defense, Vicuña alleges that the payments she received were voluntary contributions to raise funds for the Alianza Bolivariana Alfarista party, financed through the personal accounts of its members since it did not have a Unique Taxpayer Registry and was not included on the list of political organizations authorized by the National Electoral Council.

On the other hand, she warned that Sagbay, who was a fellow party member, used the situation to blackmail her.

Transfers of over 43,000 dollars to Vicuña's account were verified, of which Sagbay contributed over $23,000.